Chapter 25
They head back up to the surface and into her tent. The sun was starting to set, meaning although it was still unbearably hot, it would become just as cold soon. Hermione prepared a cot across the tent for Draco. She made it appear nicer than hers out of hospitality, but also because she knew a thing or two about the tastes of the upper class. "Will that suffice for you?" She asked, as she sat upon her own cot and tentatively wiped away beaded sweat from her brow.
"That's right, 'we'. You actually have something to report now that you're past the Room of Runes that you dutifully translated, thanks to me. If this assignment turns out to be just as beneficial to Alchemists as much as Gringotts, I can definitely justify gaining my own office." Draco retorted as they made their way back to the surface.
They entered the tent and Draco watched as she transfigured a cot for him on the other side of the tent. She even asked if it was sufficient. He noted his cot was nicer then her own. He took the gesture as a form of gratitude for solving those two puzzles earlier. "That will suffice…thank you." He said and sat down. Placing his bag at his feet he rummaged through it to get a drink from his flask and use a cloth to wipe the sweat from his face.
The sound of a camel could be heard and Draco was curious why she didn't seem startled by it. He stood and took a peek out of the tent flap door. Sacks and a large container of water were right outside. He barely caught a glance of an Egyptian boy as he hurried off urging the camel into a run to beat the setting sun. Carrying the sacks to the table he opened them and found Egyptian cuisine Kushari and heart, thick, glutenous pita bread called Eish Masri.
Kushari is an Egyptian dish made of rice, macaroni, and lentils mixed together, topped with a tomato-vinegar sauce; garnished with chickpeas and crispy fried onions and a sprinkling of garlic vinegar sauce. "It appears that dinner has arrived. But this definitely needs something…" he voiced and transfigured the sacks into a fancy white tablecloth to cover the simple square wood table. Next came transfiguring the travel eating utensils into actual silverware. The last touch was a candle lit in the center of the table, his personable bottle of Elderflower wine and two goblets. He took a seat at one of the two chairs available at the table and waited for her to join him.
"Your own office? Don't get to hot-headed now. I hear they only offer those to exceptionally special cases." Hermione teased. "Perhaps when we continue with what I have plan on doing, they they'll give you one, without a doubt!" Hermione also heard the camel approach but didn't get out of the tent in time to meet with the rider before he left. "Oh drat, Omar! I usually greet him outside. He is really a nice boy." Hermione had completely forgotten about both eating and the delivery of food in their exploits earlier in the day. But when Draco set the newly transfigured table, her stomach remembered what time it was and started growling. "Oh thank you, Draco. This looks lovely." She said as she sat down across from her first dinner guest in weeks. She did request extra for this and the next few days just in case the occasion needed so. The food was plentiful and looked absolutely amazing after a long day.
"I'm starving, let's tuck in, shall we?" Hermione asked cheerfully.
Draco nodded in agreement and simultaneously they began to eat. The first few minutes were spent simply enjoying the vegan but nutritionally adequate meal, with only the sounds of quiet chewing and swallowing. At some point Draco uncorked the bottle of wine and poured some into his goblet. "Care for some Elderflower wine, Granger?" He offered. It was an excellent fruity and floral wine made from the flowers of the elder tree, its flavor highly complementary to the spice of the flavors in the Kushari.
"If I may ask, how are your parents? Did you restore their true memories?" He inquired, starting a casual conversation. He hadn't spoken or seen her in five years. Seeing her now reminded him of the task he assisted her with in order for her to restore them to their former selves.
"Yes, please. It's been too long since I've had anything but water to drink." She carefully took a sip of the white wine and her eyes roll back as a content sigh escaped her lips. "Mmm. Perfect, thank you." She smiled when Draco asked about her parents' memories. "Yes, I was able to restore their memories. As far as I can tell when I visit them, they seem to be back to their old selves again. I meant to owl you afterwards to thank you. I suppose I got caught a bit caught up catching them up as to what all happened and transitioning back to England." She looked at him with soft eyes, "So, I'll do it now. Thank you, Draco."
She reclined back in her chair and stretched, "I still say that you're a good person underneath, you just won't admit it. Or whatever your reasoning may be, it ends up being a good deed in the end." She stated, taking another sip of her wine.
"You're welcome." Draco replied, setting the bottle down once her glass was filled. She told him of her parents and her intentions to owl him, but hadn't. She thanked him anyways and he just shrugged, "You would have figured it out on your own eventually, I am certain. At best I simply enlightened your mind to reach the conclusion sooner rather than later."
His face contorted into a moment of contemplation when he heard her say she thought he was a good person. He remembered what he had pondered about in thought when she had initially told him of her plight of what she had done to her parents to keep them safe while they were at school that final year. "What you did for your parents to keep them safe during the war was what you felt was necessary. I did what I thought was necessary during the war for me and my parents to stay alive. What you did for your parents, or rather the manner to which you used to protect them I would never have the strength to do. I'm selfish and cowardly like that. Neither of which are considered good person attributes." Then he asked in a sincere tone of voice, lightening the topic, "Do all Gryffindors desire to believe there is good in everyone, or is that just a part of Hermione Granger's personality?" They were working together now; he figured he should get to really know her.
"It must be just me." Hermione shrugged, "Other's might not agree, but something about you just screams…" She searched for the right word, "Well I'm not quite sure. I understand that you would stand with where your loyalties lie, but I think you also know what's good for the many, not just the few." She went on.
Hermione took a bite of food, "You display narcissism, which I hear girls just love these days as being 'misunderstood', but I think you have a softer, kinder side as well. No matter how much you try to hide it." She started to giggle, but is cut off by a bit of tomato as it fell down her windpipe, causing her to choke. She wheezes and coughs, but can't dislodge the food by herself. She looked to Draco for help, her eyes watering.
It was odd to hear her analyze him verbally. Her voice was so full of…hope? No, that wasn't it. Curiosity. That was the look she had in her eyes as she spoke. He displayed his emotions and feelings in such subtle ways, that 'reading him' was not easy. But Granger was curious enough to attempt to do so. The stoic look he gave her when she mentioned the girls loving 'misunderstood' narcissism to the point she found her comment so comical she started giggling. "Good thing we are in our mid twenties and not teenagers any longer. Those types of girls lose their appeal after graduation." He said, reflecting a moment upon Pansy Parkinson. She had been that type of girl. Fun to be with for a while, but couldn't carry a decent intellectual conversation.
Her giggle sound suddenly turned into wheezing with weak coughs. "You alright there Granger?" He asked, her eyes were watering with panic flashing over her facial features.
"Oh, blood hell." He said realizing she was actually in serious trouble. He wasn't a healer. He didn't know the healing spell used to dislodge objects from throats in choking situations. He didn't know what in the mixture of food she was choking on to attempt to use Accio. A memory came to him. He had been at his Aunt's and Teddy started choking.
-Flashback-
"What the hell are you doing?! You're hurting him!" Draco shouted as he watched Andromeda begin to perform a dislodging maneuver that resembled anything but helpful.
"Relax, Draco. She is simply using a cupped fist up into his stomach, forcing air to go up through the windpipe to force the blockage out." Narcissa answered and suddenly a unchewed morsel of beef flew out of Teddy's mouth.
"That's disgusting." Draco commented instantly and Teddy got a scolding about chewing before swallowing.
-End Flashback-
Granger must have realized what was coming because they both stood up at the same time. He made his way around the table to her and approached her from behind. Wrapping his arms around her, he mimicked his Aunt's hand gestures and motions, thrusting his cupped fist up into her abdomen. The movement foreign and he hoped he wasn't making the situation worse.
Hermione stood up and raised her arms in preparation for Draco to give her the abdominal thrust maneuver. She had taken basic first aid course the summer before, she, Ron, and Harry embarked on their quest for the Horcruxes. So she knew what to do if someone else was choking, but not herself. She wasn't sure what to expect from Draco, it looked as though he knew what to do though.
It took three good, uncomfortable pumps for the tomato to dislodge out of her throat but still stay within her mouth. She grabbed a napkin, spat the nasty bit out into it, she withdrew her wand and tossed the wad into the air and cast incendio over it, as though she thought the bit of food might try to attack. The napkin was consumed in flames, turning into ash as it fell to the ground. Hermione soothed the coughing fit that followed with the rest of the wine in her glass. A drink of water would have been better, but she was far too invested to change course. The wine not only calmed her throat, but her as well. She felt dizzy, a reaction from lack of proper breathing exchange she supposed.
Draco stopped moving when he felt her abdomen no longer hold resistance against the air pressure he had caused. He watched her spit into a napkin and set it aflame, the whole wad turning to ash as it fell to the ground. A couple of dry coughs quickly died down with her drinking her entire goblet of wine in one go.
He realized that he was still against her. His chest against her back, he was certain his cheeks flared a bit of pink. He was about to remove himself and let his arms fall from around her when he felt her form began to sway. "I got you, Hermione." He reassured, unclasping his hands so they could grasp her waist and hold her steady against him.
He could feel the rapid beat of his heard and was certain his cheeks were still flushed with color. Some days being so fair skinned had its disadvantages. For the moment he was glad they weren't directly face to face. It wasn't fair for him be reacting like he was when his intentions had been purely to help her the only way he knew how in her moment of need.
The sun had set outside, the only light source coming from the lit candle he had placed on the table.
Hermione calmed herself and her breathing slowed. She turned around to face her savior and hugged him, her arms around his torso, "Thank you. I'm not sure what I would have done if you weren't here." Her voice was soft and hushed as if she spoke to loudly the air around them would become brittle and break. Her head rested against his chest and a moment later she started to laugh once more at the whole circumstance. Her face was red with inebriation. "I am sorry. I don't mean to laugh at such a serious situation. I guess I shouldn't talk with my mouth full, huh?"
For a long moment they just stood in silence, letting the shock wear off. He could feel her breathing slowly taper to a calm rise and fall. When she turned around and gave him a hug, thanking him in a soft voice barely above a whisper if felt more powerful than anything else she had stated in a normal speaking level all evening. "You're welcome. You're lucky Teddy had an incident like this." He mentioned stating the reason why he knew roughly what to do.
Her face rested against his chest so he mistook her shoulders suddenly quaking as crying, which left him confused. When she looked up at him, stifling a giggle so she could speak her face was just as blush as his had been a minute prior. "Hmm, if I hadn't been here you would have talked less and done more chewing. Talking less, especially with another person around, will prove to be a most difficult task for you." He replied in jest, holding her still in a relaxed hug.
He let her go and took a step back. "Don't go thinking I did that out of complete goodness. There is not a soul who would believe me, outside my only living blood relatives but they wouldn't count, that Hermione Granger died choking on food while in my company. Even if I presented a memory, I'd end up in Azkaban at the very least. Or perhaps receive a Dementors Kiss." He stated bringing back the topic of discussion before she began choking about him being self interested rather than 'good'. The grin on his face suggested his statement was more for show than any real merit.
No longer feeling hungry he pulled out his wand and cleaned up dinner. With the candle flame blown out he used his wand to rummage through his pack for sleeping attire and toiletries then excused himself to the restroom to change and brush his teeth.
When he returned he retired to his cot.
Hermione rolled her eyes at Draco's comment about the difficult task of her not talking, especially with another person around. She wouldn't admit it, but he was right. The silence of working alone had made for long hours of her speaking out loud sometimes as she translated. Her only form of human interaction being the delivery boy who was sometimes open to conversation, while other times he had to hurry off with only her acknowledging her word of thanks with a wave of his hand.
Then Draco justified his reason for his actions. "Complete goodness? So just a little bit of goodness then! Don't worry; I won't tell a soul, it'll be our little secret." She joked, giving Draco a wink. As he left for the restroom to prepare for the night, Hermione slipped into her own pajamas. She had to shake some sand out of them, but quickly dressed before Draco returned. Red, form fitting, flannel pants and a shirt, some of the most comfortable night garments she'd ever worn; a gift from Molly Weasley.
She watched as Draco returned and retired to his cot. She cast a temperature shield and protective charm around the tent. "Ooh, what a day!" Hermione said, stretching out on her cot.
Draco's mind was occupied to notice her casual chatter. He was too focused on the discoveries of their day. He knew they would continue the work of Dev Hoenheim and he needed to put all his focus into that. But it didn't help that he was a bit distracted. His mind kept recalling the way Granger had felt in his arms. The scent of her hair, once the emergency passed. Her teasing about keeping his little bit of 'goodness' a secret. Focus, he chided to himself. What were they going to do if they did create a simple sentient being? Wait, she worked for Gringotts technically. They would use it to protect gold. Curse-Breakers go on these assignments and bring back gold and other precious objects to the goblins. Knowing that seemed more or less okay to press onward in Draco's mind. If they didn't someone else would, and he really wanted his own office. "Good night, Granger." He said simply, indicating he was done with unnecessary small talk and rolled over to face away from her to sleep.
Draco's dismissal of Hermione's want to continue to talk upset her a bit. She'd been isolated for the better part of two weeks, so she was really looking forward to conversing with someone. "Good night." She said, slightly disappointed. She didn't fall asleep right away. Thoughts of the day's findings and tomorrows possibilities flooded her mind. Also, a few thoughts here and there about her temporary roommate drifted in her mind before sleep finally took her.